LeapFrog 2009 Annual Report Download - page 113

through February 2010. Before joining us, he served as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Levi
Strauss & Co., a marketer of apparel, from August 1998 to December 2003. From January 1988 to August 1998,
Mr. Chiasson served in varying capacities with Kraft Foods, Inc., a division of Phillip Morris Companies and a
manufacturer and seller of branded foods and beverages, most recently as Senior Vice President, Finance and
Information Technology. From June 1979 to January 1988, Mr. Chiasson served in varying capacities with
Baxter Healthcare, most recently as its Vice President and Controller for the Hospital Group. Mr. Chiasson
received his B.A. from the University of Arizona and his M.B.A. from the University of Southern California.
Mr. Chiasson’s ongoing leadership role at LeapFrog, now as Chief Executive Officer, means that he can
contribute a deep understanding of our day-to-day operations to the board. He brings many years of experience
with consumer products companies through his experience at LeapFrog, Levi Strauss & Co. and Kraft Foods,
Inc. Also, his long service as a public-company executive officer gives him extensive knowledge of and
experience with business operations and strategy, including compensation and corporate governance matters,
finance and accounting issues, regulatory requirements, and risk awareness and management. Mr. Chiasson also
offers substantial finance and strategy experience, having served as our Chief Financial Officer and as the Chief
Financial Officer of Levi Strauss & Co., and in other senior financial roles at other public companies.
Jeffrey G. Katz has served as a member of our board of directors since June 2005 and as Executive
Chairman of the board since March 2010. Previously, he served as our Chief Executive Officer and President
from July 2006 through February 2010, and as Chairman of the board from March 2009 through February 2010.
Mr. Katz has served as the Chief Executive Officer of NexTag, Inc., an operator of comparison shopping sites,
since March 2010. Before joining us, Mr. Katz served as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Orbitz,
Inc., an online travel company, from 2000 to 2004. From 1997 to 2000, Mr. Katz was President and Chief
Executive Officer of Swissair, a publicly held airline. From 1980 to 1997, he served in a variety of roles at
American Airlines, a publicly held airline, including Vice President of American Airlines and President of the
Computerized Reservation System Division of SABRE. Mr. Katz serves on the board of directors of Sojern, Inc.,
a privately held company that operates a targeted advertising network. Mr. Katz earned a B.S. in mechanical
engineering from the University of California, Davis, and M.S. degrees from both Stanford University and the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Mr. Katz’s recent service as President and Chief Executive Officer of LeapFrog means that he can
contribute a deep understanding of the company’s day-to-day operations to the board, and his role as Executive
Chairman includes a management advisory role. His experience as Chief Executive Officer of LeapFrog, Chief
Executive Officer of Orbitz and President of the Computerized Reservation System Division of SABRE,
provides significant experience in online marketing and sales, customer relationship management and operations
to the board. In addition, his engineering educational background allows him to contribute his technical
knowledge to board discussions. With substantial experience leading public companies, including as Chief
Executive Officer of LeapFrog, Orbitz and Swissair, Mr. Katz also provides the board with strong general
knowledge of public company operations, including oversight of extensive sales organizations and other such
organizations within the company, finance and accounting issues, regulatory requirements, and risk awareness
and management, among other things.
Thomas J. Kalinske has served as our Vice Chairman since July 2006. From February 2004 to July 2006,
Mr. Kalinske served as our Chief Executive Officer and previously served in that same capacity from September
1997 to March 2002. He has served on our board of directors since September 1997 and was the Chairman of our
board of directors from September 1997 to February 2004. From April 2007 to May 2008, Mr. Kalinske served
as Chief Executive Officer of cFares, Inc., an online meta search company. From 1996 to February 2004,
Mr. Kalinske served as the President of Knowledge Universe (now Mounte LLC), a private company focused on
building leading companies in areas relating to education, technology and career management and the
improvement of individual and corporate performance. From 1990 to 1996, he served as President and Chief
Executive Officer of Sega of America. Prior to that, he was President and Chief Executive Officer of the
Universal Matchbox Group from 1987 to 1990. Prior to that, he served as President and Co-Chief Executive
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